One of the first things which struck me about the Qur’an the first time I read it was how it can suddenly and jarringly jump to a completely different scene,
I’ve often been told that the Torah and the Injil were only for the Jews. However, two problems: The Pickthall translation doesn’t hide it: He hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad)
John Fontain recently debated David Wood on the Islamic Dilemma, which points out that the Qu’ran both affirms the Torah and Gospel while contradicting them. John has a rather different
Those who attempt to say that the Qur’an teaches the corruption of the earlier scriptures, often appeal to Qur’an 5:48, but this argument turns on the translation of the word
I’m reading through the Qu’ran one last time this year and wanted to follow along with a Tafsir. I discovered Quran Garden which was just the sort of thing I
The Qur’an claims that if it were not from God, there would be many contradictions in it. However, there is one Qur’anic verse which presents an inherent contradiction! In chapter
The sun sets in muddy spring (18:86) Semen comes from between backbone & ribs (86:6-7) Stars are missiles to shoot devils (67:5) If a fly lands in your drink, one
The Qur’an speaks about Allah helping the followers of Jesus and keeping them “uppermost”, but this presents a dilemma since, historically, this has to refer to Trinitarian Christians… which is
About a year ago I began growing a beard. Coupled with my glasses and accent, it made everything I said sound profound and insightful.
For the past twelve months my family expressed their disapproval concerning this addition to my chin, so this Christmas I gave them all a special Christmas present. I shaved. I even let my niece first have a go at it with the clippers. If that doesn’t make me “Uncle Of The Year”, I don’t know what will…
However, for those of my friends who are still rocking the facial hair, please check out Catholic Beard Balm, a company that combines beards, mustaches and the Catholic Faith:
One of my recently-discovered TV shows is Person of Interest starring Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson. It was introduced to me by my housemate, Aaron, so thanks to him I’ve been binge-watching the last four seasons on Netflix.
I don’t want to give too much away, but the basic gist of the show’s storyline is that a man named Harold has built an extremely advanced artificial intelligence which he simply refers to as “The Machine”.
One of my favourite scenes from Season 4 was a flashback in episode 11 (“If-then-else”) where we see Harold teaching The Machine to play chess. The Machine is taking a very long time to make its opening moves because it is checking all the possible moves and permutations. The Machine is effectively stuck in what is commonly known as “Analysis Paralysis”, so Harold speaks to the machine…
Harold’s dialogue in the show is typically very profound, but I found what he says in this scene particularly striking:
Each possible move [in chess] represents a different game… By the second move, there are 72,084 possible games. By the third, 9 million. By the fourth there are more possible games of chess than there are atoms in the universe. No one could possibly predict them all, even you.
Which means that that first move can be terrifying. It’s the furthest point from the end of the game, there’s a virtually infinite sea of possibilities between you and the other side…
…But it also means that if you make a mistake, there’s a nearly infinite amount of ways to fix it. So you should simply relax and play.
Harold Finch, Person of Interest
My personality type certainly predisposes me towards Analysis Paralysis. Like The Machine, I’m often afraid of making a mistake, so much so that I spend protracted periods of time considering all the options and possible consequences. Now while prudence is a good thing, this kind of analysis can be debilitating. It’s a problem when you’re so risk averse that you never actually take a course of action.
It is here that I find Harold’s words comforting. In life, much like in a game a chess, it’s virtually impossible to check every possible scenario and say for absolute certain what will happen, but the sooner you start, the sooner you can make adjustments. So, “…simply relax and play”.
No man can possibly be happy in a place where he is not in his element and where all around him is not congenial to his tastes, habits, and character.
When an eagle is happy in an iron cage, when a sheep is happy in the water, when an owl is happy in the blaze of noonday sun, when a fish is happy on the dry land – then, and not till then, will I admit that the unsanctified man could be happy in heaven
On Catholic Memes, I just saw a video where Stephen Colbert challenged another celebrity to a Catholic throwdown. This time his opponent was Patricia Heaton, star of “Everybody loves Raymond” and “The Middle”:
Oh Stephen…you disappoint me.
I counted at least three major Catholic mistakes in this throwdown, three “maxima culpas”, if you will. So get out your sackcloth and ashes, and let me I teach you something about the Catholic Faith…
To mark Martin Luther King Day, here’s a James Taylor Classic, “Shed a little light”, performed by “Naturally 7” and Restless Pilgrim favourites, “The Maccabeats”:
Let us turn our thoughts today
To Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us,
All men and women living on the Earth.
Ties of hope and love,
Sister and brotherhood,
That we are bound together
In our desire to see the world
Become a place in which our children
Can grow free and strong.
We are bound together by the task
That stands before us
And the road that lies ahead.
We are bound and we are bound.
There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness
And the mist
And though the body sleeps
The heart will never rest
Shed a little light, oh Lord, So that we can see, Just a little light, oh Lord. Want to stand it on up, Stand it on up, oh Lord, Want to walk it on down, Shed a little light, oh Lord.
Can’t get no light from the dollar bill,
Don’t give me no light from a TV screen.
When I open my eyes I want to drink my fill
From the well on the hill,
Do you know what I mean?
About a year ago I began growing a beard. Coupled with my glasses and accent, it made everything I said sound profound and insightful.
To mark Martin Luther King Day, here’s a James Taylor Classic, “Shed a little light”, performed by “Naturally 7” and Restless Pilgrim favourites, “The Maccabeats”: